Colicchio's Call to Action on Hunger

Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio brought his passion for food policy to Cinema Arts Centre Wednesday, joining a panel concerned with hunger in America.

The discussion centered on the documentary, "A Place at the Table," which featured both those who have received government food assistance and experts in the field of food policy and the social and health impact of hunger.

The documentary tells the stories of several families whose poverty has made getting enough to eat a daily struggle. Interspersed with their stories are interviews with experts who want to change government policy on farm support and healthy foods. 

Colicchio and actor Jeff Bridges are among those who appear in the documentary, which says that "50 million Americans—1 in 4 children—don’t know where their next meal is coming from."

While emergency and short-term solutions to hunger, such as food banks and federal food programs draw many people's attention, the underlying theme of the documentary is the need for new approaches.

"The conversation needs to change from welfare to investment" in the people who require help now to be more productive citizens in the future, Colicchio said.

He and others, including U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, D-Huntington, and Assemb. Charles Lavine, D-Glen Cove, suggested policies would only change when voters hold political leaders accountable.

Israel said that polls of top issues for voters never include food policies.

"You've got to create a movement," he said. Members of Congress "will change their priorities if there's a movement." 

Colicchio and CBS Radio’s Mike Xirinachs, who talked about his family needing food stamps when he was a child, said people needed to organize and make hunger a more visible issue.

Randi Shubin Dresner, president and CEO of Island Harvest, said thousands of Long Islanders, including children and veterans, need food assistance. "People are struggling but most don't have a voice," she said. Others need to speak up about hunger with friends, relatives and political leaders, volunteer to help at food banks, and donate.